Two months postpartum, if I ignore it, will it go away? (Anonymous)

onTuesday, October 14, 2008

A friend referred me to this site when I told her, in shock, that I couldn’t fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothing. I guess I had assumed, having always been a rather thin girl, a model and a dancer, that I would somehow magically bounce back into pre-preggo shape right after birth, like the Hollywood stars do. But that’s obviously a myth, and I’m slowly learning to accept it.
A lot of my previously held illusions were shattered by pregnancy. I thought I would be “lucky” and escape the Stretch Mark Monster, but I didn’t. I thought I’d be healthy and not gain too much weight, but at 42 weeks, I was 170 lbs. I had started at 120 lbs. I thought my breast wouldn’t get too big, since I barely fit an A cup before pregnancy, but they’re grown and grown to the point where I think bigger isn’t better, even where boobs are concerned!
After my labor, I forced myself not to look at my body, because I knew that if I did, I would freak out. I thought to myself “maybe if I ignore it, by the time I look at it again, it’ll have gotten better”. Having taken these pictures of myself standing naked in the bathroom, I realize that I won’t be going back to who I was before. I had worked so hard to keep myself in picture-perfect shape, I had used all the lotions and potions to keep my skin smooth and young, and suddenly, everything about my appearance was totally out of my control. I think I didn’t let my husband see me naked until a week ago.
It’s been a long road and I know I have more healing to do, both inside and outside. I have to let go of my illusions of the “perfect hollywood body”. I have to accept that I am forever changed by my maternity, and that the new form I will gradually achieve is just as beautiful as the one I wore before. And when I look at my beautiful daughter, somehow, it doesn’t matter or hurt as much.

Oh my – you really look amazing, and you’re only two months PP, imagine how you’ll look in another three or four months! You have a beautiful baby to show for it and your breasts are full and womanly. Best of luck.

i think you look great and you are only 2 months PP. in a year, youll look back and you will look MUCH more different, trust me! i am 2 months pp with my second now. you have such a flat tummy already.

You looked like me when I was preggo… Just ALL belly. And your entry reminds me so much of myself, hoping to escape all those pregnancy horrors, I didnt either… but this new body of yours is very beautiful, very womanly. I hope you are able to get to a place where you learn to love it for what it is.

You look incredible for two months post-partum. Trust me on this. You’ve got a few stretch marks but they look like they’ve already started to fade, which is incredible this early on (you’ve obviously got good skin tone). All it needs is a bit more time. I say give a year. Not because when twelve months is up a bell will ring and your body will suddenly snap into its pre-baby shape, but because over the course of those twelve months your body will recover and repair itself. And after a year you’ll look back and realise how far it has come, almost without you noticing. Small changes that happen every day are much harder to spot, but they count just as much towards the end goal.

As for the ‘Perfect Hollywood Body’ we’re all putting ourselves under a sad amount of pressure to attain to post-partum ideal. What an industry of insecurity this has created – the idea that we must all leave the hospital and slip back into our tiny jeans without so much as a stretch mark upon us. I know, because I’ve felt that pressure too; standing in the bath, looking at my ravaged post-twin-caesarean tummy, asking my husband whether he agreed that it was “getting really flat”. And this was a week in. What was I thinking? With these celebrity mothers none of us know quite what goes on behind closed doors and I think a lot of it is smoke and mirrors – the right clothes, the right pair of spanx, good hair and makeup and help in all the right places. And probably some hefty dieting too.

I promise you that you have nothing to worry about. You are going to snap back really well if you look like this at two months. Enjoy your body for what it has done and feel proud of yourself. You look fantastic and amazing and your baby is adorable, and any post-partum baby tummy will shift in time. It will happen so enjoy where you are now and enjoy the journey your body is on. It’s an amazing journey after all.
K

I feel for you so much, hon!! I was a very petite 5 foot tall 100 pound girl before being pregnant, I’m only 29 weeks now, and I’ve gained 40 pounds and have accumulated stretch marks ALL over my butt and thighs and am just starting to get them on my stomach. I’m heartbroken over it as I to did my best to keep my body in good shape forever and now this.

Little one is worth it, though. I’m glad you find some solace in her! :)

The female body is considered to be post-partum for the first YEAR after the baby is born. Give yourself time, and grant yourself the same grace you grant other mothers (because I’m betting you look at other figures JUST like yours and think how much better they look than you)!

Okay, so i am NOT a mother yet. Heck, i’m still a senior in high school. but a LOT of my friends have had beautiul babies, but being 17 and having a pregnant body really gets them down. And i hate that they feel that they’re ugly. I don’t think so at all. Beyond stretch marks they don’t even look like they’ve been pregnant. I want them to see these pictures of you and of the other women on this site. I think this is a great site, even women who haven’t had children should see this because women are women, with and without our “unflattering” marks. And i have to admit that i’m a little nervous about having children someday, I really hope i’ll be able to still see myself as being beautiful then. You and everyone else here are an inspiration and your baby is absolutely beautiful! Congratulations!

I’m 2 months post partum, just read all the comments and you’re story and I started crying? women ARE soooo amazing, we shouldn’t be hard on ourselves! I still haven’t let my husband see my stretch marked belly!he was away for awhile and doesn’t know .he thinks I just gained weight , I don’t wanna break the news to him lol